South Carolina suspends lawyer Alex Murdaugh's law license as investigation widens
South Carolina's highest court agreed Wednesday to
indefinitely suspend the law license of Alex Murdaugh, the latest blow to a
prominent attorney whose actions have come under scrutiny after he survived a
roadside shooting and abruptly resigned from his law firm last week over
allegations of misconduct.
The South Carolina Supreme Court's order says Murdaugh did
not oppose the suspension.
Murdaugh, 53, had announced Monday that he was entering
rehab in the wake of the fatal shootings of his wife, Margaret, and son, Paul,
in June — a double homicide that remains unsolved and has attracted national
attention.
But he failed to mention that his law firm — Peters,
Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick, which was founded by his
great-grandfather — had opened an investigation into "misappropriated
funds."
"This is disappointing news for all of us," the
law firm said in a statement later Monday. "Rest assured that our firm
will deal with this in a straightforward manner. There's no place in our firm
for such behavior."
The firm added that a forensic accounting firm will conduct
an internal investigation and that it had notified law enforcement and the
South Carolina Bar. It's unclear how much money Murdaugh is accused of taking
and how it was used, and the law firm declined further comment.
In a statement Wednesday, Murdaugh's brother, Randolph
Murdaugh IV, who is also a lawyer and partner at the family-founded law firm,
said he was "shocked" along with his colleagues to learn of his
brother's drug addiction and the accusations of stolen money.
"I love my law firm family and also love Alex as my
brother. While I will support him in his recovery, I do not support, condone,
or excuse his conduct in stealing by manipulating his most trusted
relationships," Randolph Murdaugh IV said.
The Murdaugh brothers' father, a grandfather and a
great-grandfather all held the top prosecutor's position in South Carolina's
14th Circuit, which covers a swampy coastal region of the state known as the
Lowcountry, and wielded power in the same role for more than eight decades.
Alex Murdaugh was a part-time prosecutor in the office while also working for
his great-grandfather's private law firm.
Officials in the state's 14th Circuit said Tuesday that
Murdaugh was "no longer authorized to prosecute on behalf" of the
office following the accusation by his law firm. The last case he prosecuted
for the agency was in October 2019.
Margaret and Paul Murdaugh's bodies were found by Murdaugh
on June 7 near dog kennels on the family's hunting property in Colleton County,
west of Charleston. They had been shot to death.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has released few
details, saying it does not want to compromise its investigation. The agency
did not respond to a request for comment about the allegation lodged by
Murdaugh's former law firm.
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